How to Avoid Online Scammers

My subscribers often write to me about this concern: They search the web looking for help on how to build their online business. But they get so confused because most of what they find are programs, which are clearly one big scam after the other.

This is a basic question, yet the answer seems complex and confusing.

Before you spend your money on someone’s wonder product, remember this. The great majority of successful online marketers follow one basic model I describe below.

Sometimes they offer a special twist, a “secret” which produces fantastic results. Assuming this is true, just because it works for the person selling it, it doesn’t mean it will work for me, or you.

Why?

Because Our Circumstances Are Different.

We probably don’t have the online skills the product seller has; or may not be widely know like they are. Additionally, in all likelihood they have a big list because they are established product sellers. And they probably have an army of high-powered affiliate marketers promoting their products.

I could go on, but you get the point.

The basic online information business model is very simple, and has very few “moving parts.”

Online Information Business Model

1. Squeeze page, with a valuable, enticing give away item

2. A place to capture and hold email addresses (autoresponder)

3. Follow-up email sequence to get your audience to “know, like, and trust” you

4. Your own blog to educate and inform your audience

5. Products to offer for sale… you will usually begin with affiliate products you make a commission on, and eventually you will have your own products

EVERYTHING else which sellers offer, are variations, or enhancements of one, or more of the items 1 – 5 above.

Beware of Product Reviews!

Many product reviews are garbage, because the people offering them usually do not even own or use the product they are reviewing.

They just want you to buy through their affiliate links, which conveniently and miraculously appear further down the review page!

And if they have a rating for the product, it is always 9.8 out of 10… surprise! surprise!

And to rank at the top of Google, they have a title which begins with “Is Such and Such a Product a Scam or Legit.” Or some very similar variation of the title.

A couple of days ago, I almost bought a “new” wonder product which could make me thousands of dollars a month.

All you do is put together these simple websites, and attached them legally to huge corporate websites like CNN, which get millions of views each month. Of course, your website captures a percentage of this traffic.

You may wonder why I considered such a product.

The product was offered by a marketer I know. He has years of successful experience, and would not risk their reputation on a product that doesn’t work.

So why didn’t I buy?

Because my circumstances are different. I don’t want to go off on a totally different direction in my online business.

Special skills are probably required, which I would have to learn. I would have to master the art of linking my new little websites to major corporate websites.

Plus a number of related issues which make this simple system a lot more involved than how it was shown to me.

I’m not saying that the system was a scam. All I’m saying is that until you have a lot of experience, you should stick to the basic business model I outlined above.

How to Avoid Online Scammers

You probably already have a beautiful blog, which has a squeeze page, with a giveaway item. Your website has affiliate product links which can earn you money.

If that’s the case, all you need is to keep adding valuable posts to your blog, drive traffic to it, and continue to look for ways to promote your blog through social media, or whatever new idea YOU come up with.

Unfortunately, it takes time and patience to build a successful online information business, or any other online or offline business for that matter.